Apr 22 Earth Day Toolkit

Earth Day is a time to appreciate our planet, its inhabitants, and the people who work tirelessly to protect it. Bring these topics into your classroom using our Earth Day Text Sets and activities, which we’ve designed to be fun for students in all classrooms.

Each row of this Text Set explores the effects of climate change on a region in the United States. The first article in each row provides an overview of the climate change in the region, while the other two are complimentary news articles that delve deeper into climate change in the region. Find the row that matches the region where you live to make a conversation about climate change most relevant to your students and their futures.

Activity:

Using National Geographic Interactive Map Maker, students will create a map that shows how their region of the United States has been affected by climate change. Then use each of the individual regional maps to compare and contrast the effect of climate change across the entire country.

Meet the people of Planet Earth who advocate for our planet! These are the humans who are taking action in their communities, are using technology to help reduce pollution and raise awareness, and pursue careers to help our planet be green.

Activity:

After researching inspirational people who are advocating for the planet, students will create their own opinion piece about the importance of advocating for the planet.

Use this Text Set to explore ways in which people are taking action to care for our planet Earth. The first row will give students ideas for what they can do to take action, while the second row shows how companies, scientists, and governments are stepping up to protect the planet.

Activity:

In groups, students will create a plan for taking care of their environment that they can implement at the school or local level.

These articles all explore different aspects of our Planet Earth. Best of all, they contain some of our simplest articles (450L and below) for our less experienced readers. The first row of articles contains some unusual animals your future environmental superheroes will love. The second row provides some basic information on Earth science and the environment to both spark and satisfy your students' curiosity.

Activity:

Students will think about how they fit into their community and how their community fits into the larger world. They will document two actions that they or their families take that affect the Earth in a positive and negative way. This will take the form of either a short story, drawing or poem.

We know that, as educators, you are always coming up with innovative ways to teach concepts to your students. If you are testing out one of these activities, or have come up with something new, we would love to share it with our Newsela PRO educator community.

Bringing the written word to life is our jam. So we created the Newsela Instructional Content Platform. It's the only platform purpose-built to get students not just reading but truly engaged with every word. Students and teachers rejoice.

Bringing the written word to life is our jam. So we created the Newsela Instructional Content Platform. It's the only platform purpose-built to get students not just reading but truly engaged with every word. Students and teachers rejoice.